This summer, I worked for the Oneida Community Mansion House (OCMH), located in Oneida, NY. The OCMH is a non-profit organization that functions as a museum, a National Historic Landmark, a historic inn, and a residence. The OCMH describes itself as a place where “history meets hospitality.” The museum's mission is to tell the story of the Oneida Community (OC) (1848-1880) from its height as a radical utopian society — known for its practices of free love and socially advanced ways of living — to its transformation into the successful silverware manufacturer, Oneida Limited (1881–2006).
Through tours, exhibits, and other programming, the museum seeks to educate and inspire the public to explore social issues that still resonate today and to envision a better world. The hospitality side works to honor the history of the 93,000-sq.ft. historic mansion built by the community. By remaining a residential and guest space, the Mansion House preserves more than its architecture; it preserves its original purpose, honoring the Oneida Community by continuing to be a place of daily life and connection. The two sides of the OCMH work in synergy to honor the legacy of the Oneida Community. (https://www.oneidacommunity.org/)
My primary project this summer was to reimagine the OC Cemetery Tour by adding personal details about original members and their lives in the community to create a more engaging tour. The tour aims to transform the cemetery from a collection of gravestones into a place where visitors can engage with the lives behind the names. This project included three layers of research: general information about the OC, a deep dive into my seven chosen Community members, and a study of the broader historical context of the time in which they lived by comparing Oneida funerary and mourning practices with those of mainstream America.
Beyond research, I wrote scripts that embodied each of my seven characters, who span the OC from its founding to its transition into Oneida Ltd. I selected interpreters to recite my scripts and to bring the community to life for the audience. Additionally, I submitted a grant application to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for a historical marker to recognize the significance of the OC Cemetery and assisted museum staff with exhibit design and other work as needed. From my work this summer, I have learned a lot about nonprofits, as well as fascinating insights about the OCMH. My biggest takeaway regarding nonprofit work is how much time and attention is focused on funding. While it makes sense, given how much money is needed to maintain the mansion and the grounds and to curate the museum, I was unaware of the extent of the challenge nonprofits face in staying solvent. Funding and managing the budget were core topics in staff meetings and daily office conversations. I got to experience grant writing for the cemetery marker and gained a new perspective on the work that nonprofits are constantly engaged in. OCMH is constantly looking to make money through tours, events, the bookshop, and fundraising to stay afloat.
The importance of money introduces the main issue that I observed at the OCMH and that other museum nonprofits face, which is traction, specifically how to keep the youth engaged. How can they expand their audience? How do you make learning history more enjoyable and engaging? The OCMH does a great job; they bring in local schools for field trips and collaborate with Colgate University classes to build museum exhibits. They love interns and often engage the youth in their museum work. They have a well-set-up museum, have developed themed exhibits, like America 250, and offer extensive programing through tours, events, and more.
Programming, however, must be ever-changing to keep people interested, which can be difficult for a small team already managing a large workload. This is why my work as an intern is important for the OCMH. By researching and designing a cemetery tour with interpreters, I am producing new, interesting programming that transforms a traditional lecture-style tour into a lively experience. I have shopped for antique props and dipped into OC collections to make this tour an authentic look into life at the Mansion House. The tour is set to launch in October, intentionally aligning with Halloween’s fascination with death, skulls, and gravestones to create an especially fitting atmosphere for exploring the history of the cemetery. The start of the tour is even set up in the Big Hall, with a handmade coffin and religious hymns in the background to create a realistic OC funeral experience.
This is the first time that the OCMH has engaged in first-person interpreter history, and it is the first time that OC history will be taken off the exhibit wall and brought to life. It is an exciting advancement for the OCMH: a new, intimate way of sharing the history of the community. By creating this tour, I am enhancing the OCMH programming to keep people interested and engaged with the OCMH. This accomplishes two things for the nonprofit: achieving its mission of sharing its history and providing money to support further programming. Beyond money and programming, my experience at the OCMH shows that collaboration is central to nonprofit work. Nonprofits are typically small organizations, and the workers tend to feel more like a small community than a group of coworkers.
The four people who make up the OCMH staff feel close and connected. Nonprofit work requires these close connections, as effective collaboration is key to productivity. My perspective on museum work has broadened this summer as I have had the opportunity to observe and contribute to a variety of roles across the museum, from curatorial work and bookstore operations to preservation, while also meeting experts in niche fields like art conservation and tree measuring on the OC grounds. I can now see how much it takes to keep the OCMH running, and it was a pleasure to help out this summer as an intern.
My work here is not done. This fall, I will be leading the cemetery tours at the OCMH. Overall, this work has been directly related to my coursework as a History and Political Science major, and has helped me gain important experience. Through my research in this project, from Community diaries/reflections of life, books published by descendants and OC scholars, and Community newspapers: The Circular and The Quadrangle, and a visit to Syracuse University Special Collections, I have greatly enhanced my research skills, which are essential for both my majors. Further, I am a history major because I love history; so having the chance to dig into this unique Community and work right where they lived was incredible.
This experience introduced me to cemeteries as historical sources. Cemeteries map the people who lived in a community and their familial connections, providing a starting blueprint for understanding its history. The OC Cemetery tells so much more than simple familial relations; it tells of a society that believed in communism, as the early graves are purposely the same size and shape. It is symbolic; one of my characters, Mary Cragin's grave, is a unique stone, symbolizing her honored status as the "Queen of Hades," the leader of the community's temporary afterlife before the Second Resurrection. It stands taller and bigger than others, looking over the dead in the graveyard. But some graveyards, like the OC, are still active; they are changing, developing, and even sites of mystery. A different character I chose, Burton Dunn, had his grave topped with a bolted-in Buddha statue, called the “wise man.” It was stolen from the graveyard in 2002, was spotted 19 years later by a descendant in a Hollywood film, and eventually returned to the community. Graveyards tell endless stories; they mark the lives of those before us, and they remain important historical sources.
Broader than cemeteries, I have learned that funerary practices are a fascinating lens through which to view American History. The development of funerary practices mirrors America’s social, cultural, and religious history. I was able to see how cremation, during Roman times, was the most popular method, but with the rise of Christianity, entombment became more popular as people wanted to follow in Christ’s practice. Cremation was seen negatively by Christians, but today, it is the most popular burial choice, and that is because modern Christianity has become more accepting of its practice, among other practicality and cost factors. Seeing American history through a new lens was not only interesting, but it gave me a fuller picture of our history as a whole. What we do with the dead is not separate from history; it reflects the values, beliefs, and circumstances of each time period.
Bringing these experiences together, I have developed a deeper appreciation for the power and purpose of interpretation work. I have seen how research-driven interpretation, including first-person storytelling, transforms cemeteries into engaging educational spaces that connect visitors with the people behind the gravestones. This kind of work, which brings history to life, is the key to the issue of traction. It is not “history” that is the problem; it is delivering and selling the history in a way that resonates with people.
The goal of a museum is to sell its history; present it in a way that motivates people to come, leaves each individual with something new, and demonstrates that museums are cool places to go. Museums are places to learn and marvel at the world before us. They make us think deeply about the past, present, and future — it just takes unique and creative programming to sell them to an audience, especially my generation, who cast museums aside. Let this cemetery tour be the start of bringing museums back, reinventing what my generation sees as a “museum,” and making museums fun again!